On the occasion of the re-opening of
Blackfriars' St. Congregational Chapel, on Sabbath, Sept. 4, the
Rev. Professor Finney, president of the Oberlin College, U.S.,
author of 'Lectures on Revivals,' &c., preached to overflowing
and deeply-interested audiences in the forenoon and evening. In
the forenoon, he discoursed on 'The Prevailing Prayer-meeting,'
spoken of in Acts 1:1-14, viewed in connexion with the results
which followed on the day of Pentecost, the account of which he
read as contained in the second chapter of that book.

I purpose to remark this morning on the
first portion of the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles,
relating to the meeting which, in obedience to Christ's
injunction, was held in Jerusalem, where the apostles and other
followers of Jesus 'continued with one accord in prayer and
supplication' till the day of Pentecost, when, in answer to their
prayers, as recorded in the second chapter, they were blessed with
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. [After reading Acts i.1-14,
the preacher proceeded.]* In speaking from these words, I
remark, first, that when the gospel was first introduced into the
world, it naturally required to be attested by miracles. Those who
were sent of God to make the new revelation to man, both under the
Old Testament dispensation and the New, he bore witness to, by
giving them the power, in his name, to work miracles. This was
necessary, because they claimed to introduce a revelation of God's
will to the world, and God thus attested their credentials and
character and mission, by giving them the power of working
miracles. From this fact, and some others I need not name, there
has been a tendency in the church to regard the conversions which
followed these miracles as being themselves miraculous. Indeed,
revivals of religion have been very commonly spoken of as if they
were something very much out of the order of all means and ends,
and merely miraculous things, and this revival on the day of
Pentecost has been looked on and spoken of as a miraculous thing
altogether. This idea has prevailed to such an extent that it
seems, from what we hear and see, all religious movements and
appearances are credited or discredited by many persons in
proportion as they seem or seem not to have connexion with the use
of appropriate means. It is common to hear people, when speaking
of a revival of religion, saying, 'It must be a work of God, for
it is not connected with any means as we can see'--they seem to
have no feeling of regard to the connexion of means and ends. If,
in any case, a religious movement occurs in connexion with any
means designed to secure such results, and, so far as we can see,
naturally calculated to secure such results, certain persons are
disposed to discredit this as being merely human invention and
something of man. It is common to hear men of certain views
commend certain religious movements to the confidence of the
public as being undoubtedly the work of God, because they are
altogether out of the relation of means and ends, having no
connexion with any human agency in producing them. They occur not
under any revealed law of human or divine conduct. They are
altogether exceptional to the law of order and instrumentality
appearing everywhere else in the works and ways of God. Therefore
they are of God. This is the wonderful logic and theology of many.
In plain English, they are miracles. If reported revivals of
religion are connected with human efforts designed to secure such
a result, why, then, they are only of man, and not at all of God.
In some instances where meetings have been appointed to pray for
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it has been expressly said,
when such notice was given, that the meetings 'are not appointed
to get up a revival.' The fact is, peculiar views of the
sovereignty of God, and of man's passivity in regeneration, betray
certain persons into the great error of regarding all real
revivals as miracles.

To what extent this prevails among you, I
know not, but during forty years' experience I have constantly had
occasion to remark it. Now, let me say, this idea is a great and
dangerous mistake. It is as contrary to the Bible as anything can
be; for God has there promised the very blessings which we are to
receive under the Christian dispensation, and says, 'I will yet
for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for
them.' This is a truth, and ought to be honestly and fairly acted
upon in all religious efforts. It is often taught in scripture
that means must be used; the whole introduction of the Christian
dispensation, and all the movements connected therewith, clearly
bring out this as a necessary condition, and it is marvellous that
men who profess to receive the Bible, should dissociate religious
movements with appropriate means to secure such results. The Bible
never recognises or countenances such an idea; and furthermore, it
is contrary to the order of God's works. Both in the natural and
the spiritual world he has connected means and ends; this is the
law of his universal kingdom. It is plainly so in the natural
world; and if an investigation were made it would be found just as
plain in the spiritual world.

I remark, again, that this is an eminently
dangerous mistake, because it discourages efforts to convert the
world. Suppose, when the apostles were told to go out, and Christ
added, 'Lo, I am with you alway,'--suppose they had taken up the
idea that, to attempt to convert the world by any direct effort
designed to produce that effect that to attempt to promote a
revival of religion in the world would be to take the work out of
the hands of God, to get up some human movement; why, what would
have been the consequence? But no, they went forward with their
work, knowing Christ was with them; for he said, 'Lo, I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world.' What did Christ mean
by this? He wanted it to be understood by his disciples for their
encouragement, that all the divine help they needed was at their
hand, and that they might rely upon it. Remember I am with you
always, to give effect to the means I send you to use. Suppose
they had overlooked this--that they had forgotten to go and make
efforts to convert the world, and formed such a notion of God-s
sovereignty as to resolve on waiting till he converted the world;
or, suppose they had gone on and forgotten that they were
dependent on Christ's Holy Spirit, and suppose they had adopted
the idea that he was not always with them, and everywhere, but
only at certain times; what would have been the result, would they
have succeeded? Christ said 'I am with you alway' and everywhere;
they were to go and open their mouths and hold up their hands and
hearts to heaven, and he would continue to anoint them, and thus
they might succeed in accomplishing the thing they were sent to
accomplish. The were to understand that conversion was no miracle.
Although miracles were by them to be used as one means of
conviction, yet, in converting the world, they were to be wise in
adapting means to that end. Further, they are to remember that
though conversion is no miracle, it is in fact conditional on the
supernatural illumination of the Holy Spirit. The light of nature
is sufficient to impose obligation, but as a matter of fact does
not secure obedience. So the Bible, or the preached or written
Word, can sufficiently enlighten to take away all excuses for sin,
but not enough to turn the stubborn will to God. For this reason
they needed, and for this reason Christ promised, his presence in
the supernatural illumination of his Spirit to give saving effect
to their teachings and efforts to convert the world.

But another danger of this mistaken idea
is, that it fosters the neglect of appropriate means. If it be
true that religious movements which claim to be of God, are to be
credited in proportion as they are not connected with, and so far
as we can see, not the result of appropriate means, why then use
the appropriate means? Why should preachers adapt their preaching,
and aim to secure the conversion of their hearers? Why, with that
idea they might preach almost anything. If a sermon be preached
calculated to convert, people regard the result as human; but if
something is preached not designed nor calculated to convert, then
they say 'That is of God--there were no appropriate means, it came
upon us we know not how.' How easy it is to see that this
erroneous idea fosters a spirit of neglect--a spirit of
carelessness, as to whether the means be appropriate or
inappropriate, throwing all the responsibility upon God's
sovereignty. There was once an old minister wished me to let a
certain young man preach, and when I inquired whether he would
preach anything suited to the occasion, as it was in the midst of
a revival, 'Oh,' said he, 'no matter; there is no connexion
between means and ends in spiritual things--he will preach the
truth.' 'I shall not ask him to preach,' I said, 'unless I know he
can preach what is needed, and not divert the attention of the
people from the great object which should be placed before them.'
I could not think it my duty, in the circumstances, to humour the
old gentleman. I do not believe in this disconnection of means and
ends. The Holy Spirit, when he converts men, directs them to
something calculated to convert them, and anything else distracts
their attention, prevents their intelligent action, and prevents
their conversion.

This idea to which I have alluded is
standing greatly in the way of the conversion of the world; and if
the Church would go back to the promise of Christ when he
commissioned her--for it was not the apostles merely whom he
commissioned--to go and disciple all nations, saying, 'Lo, I am
with you alway'--if Christians would plant themselves upon that
promise, and seek to carry out their Lord's command in its true
spirit, using the appropriate means for the accomplishment of the
object, it would not be long before a different state of things
existed in the world.

This leads me to inquire what are the
appropriate means? And I remark here, that one of these is special
prayer for the object. Not the kind of prayer offered, in which
the mind is manifestly not set upon or expecting anything in
particular, and when the person praying asks promiscuously for
anything or everything from Dan to Beersheba, but special prayer,
and the prayer of faith, which has been one of the universal
antecedents of a revival of religion since God owned the world.
The whole history of the Church--all God's dealings since the
world began, and since the Christian era was introduced--bring out
this fact, that when the Spirit has been poured out upon the
Church, special prayer has been made for that object. In the case
recorded in the Acts, the brethren, without indulging in vain
speculations, and throwing all the blame of the sin of the world
on God, met for special prayer with reference to a definite
object.

Again, preaching of the word, exhortation,
and personal conversation were, and are, the appropriate and
indispensable means of securing the conversion of souls. We find
Peter, in his sermon, exhorting the people to 'save themselves
from this untoward generation.' This is what he did, and what did
his hearers do? They received his word. There must be special
prayer, preaching, and conversation, and means employed to secure
the desired end; and what they in those days expected, are you not
to expect? What did Christ mean by the parable of the feast, when
the servants were ordered to go into the highways, and streets,
and lanes, and compel them to come in? He plainly intended to
enjoin it upon the whole Church to go to this work of personal
visitation and effort to bring sinners to God's house, and to
Christ. To lay aside their indolence and their fear of man, and to
go to the unconverted wherever they can be found, and urge them,
with all possible importunity, to attend to the gospel call.
'Compel them to come in.' We must no longer yield obedience to
that devil's call of propriety and politeness that forbids us to
personally address others on the question of salvation. Blessed be
God, the churches in America and in this country, I trust, are
better understanding the application of this parable, and of the
Master's instructions, than for some generations past. We find
that to merely build churches in their neighbourhood is not
enough. We must literally go to them and use a kind of moral
compulsion to get them to the house of God, and when this can not
be secured we must preach to them where we can.

But these means are always used where there
is really a revival of religion. I will now make a few remarks on
the antecedents and accompaniments of this particular revival--the
means used in this case. Here we have a prayer meeting--a
prevailing prayer meeting, which secured the object, the desired
result.

First, there was special prayer for a
particular object. Christ had told them to wait at Jerusalem till
the Holy Spirit was poured out, which should take place not many
days hence. Here was special prayer for a definite object, and
that object the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. This is the way to
pray, if you expect the Holy Ghost to be poured out. Come together
with a definite object, and let that object be sought in earnest
prayer. O what mistakes are made on this point! Not long since, I
attended a meeting held to pray for a revival of religion. I
expected to hear some brother called on to pray for the outpouring
of the Spirit. One man prayed and prayed for a quarter of an hour,
but he never so much as once asked for the outpouring of the
Spirit; and while he prayed for almost everything else, he failed
to ask the very thing which we had come together for. People
sometimes meet together for prayer, and ask for everything in the
world except the very thing which they have come to present to
God.

Let us look at another feature of this
prayer meeting. I said they had a definite object, and that object
the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit. They manifestly were greatly
in earnest--they greatly desired this object--their hearts were
deeply set on it; they wrestled for the blessing; and there was an
energy and power about there prayers.

This was a union prayer meeting; all the
disciples seem to have been present. They were all united and
determined; their hearts were not alienated; there was
union--union in prayer; all were united in one object. There was
no person to remonstrate against their petition being granted; all
were desirous to have this object accomplished.

Again, there was faith or expectation. It
was manifest that they expected the blessing. They laid hold upon
God, and expected the blessing. Why should they not? Ay, why
should they not? For Christ had told them 'ye shall be baptised
with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.' But how can we pray in
that way? Have we any such ground for expectation? They had a
ground, because they had the Saviour's express promise; but have
we any such promise? The apostles had a great many prayer meetings
after that one; what do you suppose they did? Did they stumble at
the thought that they had no further promise, and feel in the dark
as to whether or not the influence of the Spirit would continue to
be poured out? No; for he who promised that they should receive
the Spirit not many days hence, said also 'Go and disciple al
nations,' and 'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world.' The meaning of this promise was--everywhere you go,
remember that I am with you; there lay hold on my strength, there
believe on me, and I will manifest my presence. Is that not a fair
interpretation? And has not the Church, therefore, always the
promise of Christ to be with them in all their efforts to build up
his kingdom, and to evangelise the world? So I understood it, ever
since I was converted; I have acted on this principle for nearly
forty years, and never in once instance have I seen it to fail.
When the people of God have laid hold of this principle, he has
poured out a blessing in many instances, till there was not room
enough to receive, and it has overflowed towns and cities. Let any
man take the Bible, and do as a lawyer would in dealing with any
legal question--see what that means. I have seen the Scriptures
quoted at times in such a manner, in support of certain opinions,
that I have thought if a lawyer, in seeking to establish any
point, were to quote so loosely and with such manifest latitude,
he would be laughed out of a court of justice. After I was
converted, I used to think it would be well if people would take
the Scriptures and search them as a lawyer would, inquiring, what
is the meaning of this? Take this passage--'Go and disciple all
nations,' and, 'Lo, I am with you alway.' What is the meaning of
that promise? Carry that before a judge in a court of law. Ask the
judge what that means? Here is a command to do a certain thing,
with the addition immediately following--'And lo, I am with you
alway.' What does that mean? Why did he say that? Take that, as a
lawyer would, in connexion with what goes before--why he bade them
go into the world--and lay it before a court, and I engage that
any court in Scotland would declare the meaning to be as though
Christ had said--'You may always expect me, if you believe, to
second your efforts; you may always expect the Holy Spirit to be
poured out on you, and give effect to your honest efforts.' But
this leads me to another point. Expectation, I have said, was
characteristic of this prayer meeting of the disciples, and I have
said we have just now as good reason to have expectation and faith
as they had.

Again, observe, they gave up their time.
Ah, some of you are business men. What is to become of my
business? say some, when a daily prayer meeting is proposed. I
don't know how I can afford to attend a daily prayer meeting! But
the people who attended this meeting gave up their business;
indeed, they had no business but Christ's, and that was about a
great matter. There were women present at that meeting, and I
suppose they had children. Some women could not find time to
attend such meetings. It would be out of the question with some to
have a daily prayer meeting--out of the question to have such a
thing as a revival--and out of the question to use the appropriate
means. These people cheerfully give up their time, and this was a
great matter. God emptied out their worldly mindedness. It was the
work of all, the business of all and wherefore cannot we put
forward such efforts at any rate?

Again, there was mutual agreement with
them. They were all present at the meeting; none stayed away and
remonstrated again it. Suppose a notice should be given in the
public prints that the people of Glasgow were requested to come
together to invite the Queen to visit their city. Well, suppose
there should be present only some half-dozen men who could not
stay but a few minutes--or perhaps a dozen, or twenty, or more,
and that the great mass of the people paid no attention whatever
to the matter. When this made known to the Queen, she would
say--'The people of Glasgow don't want me. They were publicly
invited to come to the meeting; only some fifteen or twenty
attended, and waited but a few minutes, during which they
transacted some formal business and made out a petition. I cannot
go, for the great mass of the people remonstrate against it. Well,
there is a prayer-meeting. Public notice is given. Let us seek the
Lord Jesus to visit us with the powerful operations of his Spirit.
How many attend?--only a few; the great mass of the people are not
present. When the Lord sees this, he may say, 'The people object
to it--they do not want me to come. But in this case the whole of
the disciples were present--about 120; they were all agreed on the
one great point, and all united in the petition. Let this be done
in any place, and I engage you will get an answer, as certain as
God is true. Only hold a prayer meeting like this one, and you are
sure to get an answer.

In this meeting there was an agreement in
regard to what they wanted, and when they wanted it, and they were
willing to make any sacrifice which might be necessary, even to
their own lives, which were on the altar, given up to promote the
work. This was plainly the spirit of the meeting.

But another characteristic of it was mutual
confidence. They did not say--There is Peter, I cannot hear him
pray; I have not much confidence in him; or, there is John, I have
not much confidence in him; I do not like to hear him pray. A good
while ago, I attended a prayer meeting, when one said to me--'Do
you hear such a one pray? I guess no one wants to hear him pray.'
This spirit of distrust and want of brotherly confidence was not
at the meeting to which our attention is now called. Such a
feeling as this is the ruin of prayer meetings. When a person gets
up to pray, some one says--'Perhaps he is a good man, but I don't
like to hear him pray.' Oh, it is death to a prayer meeting, when
there is want of confidence! They must come together as little
children. This disposition to be captious, was not at the
disciples' meeting. One prayed and another prayed. Their state of
mind was one of great simplicity, and strong love and confidence
in each other. Let this always characterise a prayer meeting, and
it is sure to prevail.

But another characteristic of this
prayer-meeting was perseverance. They held on--ah, most important
peculiarity this!--They held on from day to-day, held on, and
carried out the condition--that they were to hold fast, and give
God no rest till he accomplished what they had assembled to ask
him for. This is not like a great many prayer-meetings, where the
people can take so little time in the exercises. The fact is, they
have no earnestness.

In this meeting there was no particular
order established--no strait-jacket put on it, so that Mr
So-and-so was asked--'Will you read a chapter?' and another--'Will
you pray? and so on. Some are ever objecting to whatever they are
unaccustomed to. We are not accustomed to that, say some; but
probably you are not aware how much they deceive themselves when
they only do things they are accustomed to do. In that
prayer-meeting, I presume, nobody was taking the lead of it, so
much as to keep it in a strait-jacket. They held their hearts and
hands up, waiting for God's grace, till down came the blessing. By
this I do not mean to encourage any fanatical departure from a
proper form of worship. I was once invited to a
prayer-meeting--certain persons had been appointed to pray--the
Rev. Mr So-and-so, to do one thing, and Bishop So-and-so another.
I said it would amount to nothing. 'Why,' it was remarked in
reply, 'they are going to keep it up.' You will see, I again
observed, that it will amount to nothing; there is too much
formality. Instead of giving themselves up to the spirit of
prayer, and letting anybody pray, all is conducted in such a
strait, formal manner that it will amount to nothing. This meeting
was continued for several weeks, I believe, and it was then given
up; and it will always be so where there is this
formality.

Another peculiarity in this meeting of the
disciples was, that there was, no doubt, great fervency in their
prayer. That is the last one I will mention here. That was
'effectual fervent prayer;' all the circumstances show there was
divine earnestness in it, great earnestness and great wrestling in
their petitions.

This leads me to notice some mistakes that
are made. One of these is that this revival (on the day of
Pentecost) was itself a miracle. We should always distinguish
between a miracle as a sign and attestation on the part of God,
that these men, the apostles, were his servants, and that what
they said was his word, and the revival that occurred as a
consequence. Why, this miracle was only among the necessary means
of promoting a revival, simply because it was not then established
in the world that what these men said was God's Word. It must be
first established that these men were authorised messengers sent
from God to publish his will. This was the reason why the miracle
was wrought. The miracle was thus only part of the antecedents or
accompaniments of the revival. Here, for instance, was the Spirit
of God poured out, accompanied with the gift of tongues, which was
a miracle, showing that the apostles were authorised messengers of
God, and that what they said was from God. But what of the
conversions which followed?--what did they consist in?--were they
miracles? The simple account is, that the men received the word of
Peter. He preached a sermon calculated to promote such a result as
was promoted; they were pricked in their hearts; he told them what
to do, and they did it, under the teaching of the Spirit. The
revival was not a miracle, and we should lay aside the idea that
this or any other revival was a miracle.

Another mistake is that such revivals are
no longer to be expected. I do not mean revivals accompanied with
the gift of tongues, because the apostle said these should cease;
but why should not similar revivals be expected now, so far as the
conversion of souls is concerned?

I have known Christian men to give
themselves up to prayer with singleness of heart, and the Spirit
has been poured out with a power to remove everything before it,
producing a movement which has spread over a whole town or
district of country, and resulted in the conversion of great
multitudes of people. In fact, the antecedents, accompaniments,
and results of revivals are always substantially the same as in
the case before us, excepting that in this case there was
miraculous interposition for the purpose I have named. Let me tell
you an incident that happened in the state of New York, near the
line of Massachusetts: Some ladies had come over to New York, and
were much struck with the progress of the revival movement there,
particularly with some instances of remarkable conversions that
had occurred in the case of individuals after special prayer made
by Christians. They asked me a good many questions, and, among
other things, wanted to know if I really thought it of any use for
them to pray for a revival in their place. I related some facts to
encourage them, and told them to go home and agree, together with
other ladies of their acquaintance, to observe a closet concert of
prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. They went home, and
engaged some half-dozen of them for that purpose, at sun-rise, at
mid-day, and at sunset. Three times a-day they prayed for the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on their place. Mark--they had a
definite object in their prayer. They had no minister, but when
the Sabbath came round the people assembled to hear a sermon read,
and the conviction that the Holy Spirit was there that day was
irresistible. At the close of the service no fewer than seventy
individuals, who had been awakened, came together to be instructed
by the deacons in regard to what they should do about the
salvation of their souls, and a great revival followed. One of the
deacons said he did not believe that the Holy Spirit's presence
was more certainly manifest on the day of Pentecost than on that
occasion. This is only one instance among many. I recollect a
meeting of young people where they made this proposition:--'we
agree to observe a closet concert prayer for one week, and when we
come together again at our next meeting we will see what farther
is to be done. We gave ourselves up to a closet concert of prayer,
and met at a throne of grace three times a-day--morning, noon, and
evening.' On visiting the young people, I soon found a wonderful
spirit of prayer among them. This was not long after my own
conversion. Before the week was out the town was moved: numerous
meetings sprang up, so many person were inquiring the way of
salvation, and Christians were aroused on every side. I could
stand here till night and relate similar facts, the object of
mentioning which is to show that we may all expect the outpouring
of the Spirit now as then, and substantially the same
way.

We have reason to expect the conversion of
multitudes; only use the appropriate means. Pray for the object,
labour for the object, give ourselves with singleness of heart to
promote the object, and I am convinced God will hear you; rely
upon it, you shall see the result.

Another mistake which often develops
itself, is that of taking one of two extremes--either labouring a
great deal, and losing sight of the indispensable need of special
prayer; or--the opposite of this--having much prayer but no other
labour--very little preaching, and perhaps no visitation, no
personal conversation, no personal labour. Let the Church plead
for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit--let them expect it as on
the day of Pentecost. Why should we not have it and expect it? Let
this be understood as an indispensable condition of a revival. Let
men unite and come together for prayer; let them also pray by
themselves, and for this definite object, with the expectation
that the blessing will come, and meantime adopt all other
appropriate means for the promotion of the same end.

Waiting for the Holy Spirit without special
believing prayer, is one great error, as if the sovereignty of God
withheld the blessing. Waiting in a state of inactivity is a
mistake, and so also on the other side, is attempting to go forth
without the Holy Spirit. Christ said to his disciples 'Go forth;'
but he told them to wait in Jerusalem till they would be 'endowed
with power from on high.' But how did they wait? They did not wait
on the sovereignty of God without doing anything, but they waited
in the agonisings of prayer with perpetual
supplications.

There are certain persons who seem inclined
to discredit the present great revival in America and other
places, except in so far as they can disconnect it with the use of
the appropriate means. It is important that I should say something
on this subject. I have seen, with sorrow, in books and
periodicals, that a certain class of men seem disposed to
represent this great revival as a thing which had come without the
appropriate means being used.

Certain old school men who have been
ignorant of the real antecedents of this great movement in the
U.S., are evidently anxious to make out a case in accordance with
their peculiar views of God's sovereignty. Strange to say, the
author of the book entitled 'The Power of Prayer,' labours to make
the impression that the daily prayer-meetings were not for the
purpose of promoting a revival, but were the result of a revival
already existing, and which had come miraculously upon them, no
one knew how. Yet in his own account of the daily prayer-meetings
in New York City for example, so far is it from true that they
originated in a revival already existing in the city, that the
opposite was the fact. A few brethren seeing the depression of
business men resulting from the great commercial revulsion,
thought it a favourable time to gain their attention to religion.
They agreed to try the experiment of a daily prayer-meeting for
business men; the place and hour were agreed upon. At the hour,
but one had arrived. He waited half-an-hour and four or five more
came. They prayed for a revival. They conversed with and invited
others. The meetings increased, and the great movement gradually
developed itself as the appropriate means were used. This writer
seems to have been entirely ignorant of the fact that for many
months special prayer for the great commercial cities, and for the
business men, had gone up like a cloud of incense from numerous
daily prayer-meetings that had been numerously attended, and
accompanied with powerful revivals in many parts of the State of
New York, and in Boston and its vicinity. These men will fail to
make out a case of revival commencing without the use of
appropriate means, and one therefore that shall justify their
peculiar views. The fact is, as we shall see, this great work of
God has not been the sudden springing of a mine of miracles upon
the church, but the development and steady growth through the use
of special prayer and the appropriate means, up to a point when it
forced an account of its phenomena into the daily papers. This, as
was most natural under the law of means and ends, produced a rapid
and far-spread outburst that took multitudes by surprise, among
them the class of men I have mentioned. Especially do the persons
alluded to seem desirous to disconnect this great movement with
any labour of evangelists. I am certain, however, that in this
they will fail to make out their case wherever history shall speak
truthfully upon this point. It is true that the revival in its
gradual spread and development, under the intense and successful
efforts of a number of evangelists and pastors, reached a point
when it forced itself upon universal notice through the daily
press. This gave the facts, no longer to be ignored, to the world
the rapid development from this point far out-ran not only the
labours of the evangelists, but of pastors also. At this point the
sacramental host-the membership, male and female, rallied, and
with the public press made an onset that spread the work like fire
on the prairies. But these men being ignorant of the progress of
the daily prayer-meetings, and the leadings of the Spirit of
prayer, with the constantly spreading and increase of revival
influence for several years previous to the point alluded to, are
carried to the delusion, and seen in danger of leading others to
the dangerous conclusion, that this great work of God was
altogether a miraculous affair, not at all connected with or
resulting from the use of the appropriate means.

This is calculated to prevent the Church
from carrying on the work. Now, I have been in the midst of these
revivals for many years; I can speak as a personal witness, and I
find I am informed in regard to many of those things, respecting
which these brethren are not informed. I will not accuse them of
any design to misrepresent in anything they say, but they are not
well informed. Previous to the great revival which took place on
the continent of America, before the middle of last century,
certain men there had correspondence with a number of praying men
on your side of the water. President Edwards wrote, setting forth
the state of religion in New England, and requesting a union of
prayer between the brethren there and those in Scotland. They
entered into a solemn covenant to pray for the outpouring of the
Holy Ghost, and they had not prayed long before the Holy Ghost was
poured out, and Whitfield and others were sent into the field to
promote the work as preachers. That revival, as history informs
us, resulted in the conversion of thirty thousand persons in the
United States.

The phenomenon developed in the revival
during the eighteenth century in this country had, as I have read,
many peculiarities of the present awakening in Ireland--such as
crying out, falling down, and other manifestations. Lady
Huntingdon on one occasion wrote to Whitfield respecting these
cases of crying out and falling down at the meetings, and advised
him not remove them from the meetings, as had been done. When this
was done, it seemed to bring a damper on the meeting. She wrote,
and said--'You are making a mistake. Don't be wiser than God. Let
them cry out; it will do a great deal more good than your
preaching; she advised to let them remain. That revival had very
many of the characteristics of the present movement, and its
antecedent was a great spirit of prayer, on both sides of the
Atlantic, for the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. In the United
States, to say nothing of the revivals that occurred all along
locally for a great many years, from 1821 along to 1830, and 1835,
particularly up to 1830, revivals were scattered here and there.
On to 1830 and 1831, for some years a wonderful spirit of prayer
was seen to prevail among Christians. Daily prayer meetings were
held--ministers and laymen uniting together--and Christians of
both sexes observed certain hours for closet concert prayer. This
continued to increase, as I can bear witness, and I did what I
could to promote it, till, in 1830, it burst out with a mighty
power in the city of Rochester, and overflowed in every direction
until it reached many places east and west, till Dr. Beecher
remarked to me: 'This is the greatest revival of religion that has
been since the world began.' 100,000 were converted this year in
the United States. Taking the whole of that time, or perhaps from
1830 to 1835, there could not have been fewer than 200,000 that
were converted.

Some of you have heard those revivals of
religion discredited, and efforts have been made in this country
to represent them as spurious. There is no greater mistake. I have
been three times in great revivals in the city of Rochester, and
have seen men from there recently. In 1830, 1842, and again three
or four years ago, the revivals in Rochester spread themselves and
overflowed till they have reached a vast extent of territory, and
if there be any Christians in the world, I am sure they are to be
found as the fruits of those revivals in the United States. I have
been over the field of these revivals often, and can truly say
that I do not believe that any revivals have ever been witnessed
either in ancient or modern times that were more pure and more
lasting in their results than those. The pastors and members of
those churches, will tell you so, and we have seen these results
for a great many years, and no man can call them in doubt, any
more than he can call the Bible in doubt. Observe, in all these
cases, the appropriate means were used, and, bating[sic.]
the question of miracles, the means were the same as those used by
the apostles. Between 1830 and 1842 revivals occurred all along,
more or less, every year. In 1842 a revival again took place in
Rochester, overflowing as it had done before, and continued to
extend. In 1843 it had spread from New York to Ohio. In March,
1843, I went over the country in that direction, and found the
revival influence at work in every town at which I stopped. In all
these places the awakening partook of substantially the same
character; the same means were used,--believing prayer for a
definite object was offered, and daily prayer-meetings were held.
This revival was of wide extent. I have seen no estimate of the
number of hopeful conversions in and about 1842 and 1843. But the
number must have been large. In the single city of Albany, I have
been informed by a minister who was then labouring there, there
were over 3000 conversions. This revival was only the development
of an awakening that had, the year before (that is in 1842), been
very powerful in Boston, Providence, Rochester, and many other
places where evangelists had assisted the able pastors in holding
daily meetings, and using the appropriate means.

It has been supposed that this present
movement originated in prayer-meetings established for business
men in the city of New York. This is a great mistake. A spirit of
revival had been growing for several years in many parts of the
United States. The people of God saw the tide rising and the cloud
gathering, and they said to each other they should soon see a
general movement. In Rochester, Christians of all
denominations--Baptists, Congregationalists and Presbyterians,--
united in the work, and daily prayer-meetings and preaching were
held in the different churches in succession--the meetings moving
round from church to church in a circle. So much interest began to
be manifested in these meetings, that information regarding them
could not longer be withheld by the secular press. The facts lay
too prominently on the face of society to be ignored by the
secular press. They had ignored it in great measure, but a man who
is a sceptic himself as I am informed, yet editor of a paper of
great importance in Rochester, having a Roman Catholic reporter,
sent him to take notes of the sermons every night, and they were
published next morning. He also attended the prayer-meetings in
the morning, I believe, and reported them. The public demanded
this--it must be done--the papers must not ignore it--they must
give the intelligence to the public. As soon as this was done, it
aroused the masses in every town. The daily press reported the
sermons, and that brought the movement into public notice. From
that the revival spread in every direction. Daily prayer-meetings
were commenced, which resulted in a great many others, and the
awakening gave promise of becoming general. The next winter the
work commenced in Boston, and became powerful. In Boston the work
continued, and, I may say, increased for two successive winters. I
speak from personal knowledge, as I was present. Meantime the
revival of religion in the State of New York seemed to be growing
in many places. In Brooklyn, just across the ferry from New York
City, a daily prayer-meeting for the revival of God's work had
been held for several months. In central and western New York a
minister had given himself to the work of establishing daily
prayer-meetings. In 1856, in connexion with the great revival in
Rochester, N. Y., a little book had been published on daily public
worship as an appointment with God. This book was circulated, and
stirred up the churches in many places to hold daily meetings for
prayer and conference. Evangelists, east and west, were assisting
faithful pastors in preaching and holding daily prayer meetings
with constant and growing success, and a mighty spirit of prayer
for business men--for such men, who were neglecting their
souls--spontaneously burst out. Thus it increased until 1858, when
the commercial crisis occurred, previous to which New York had
seemed to be on such a wave of prosperity as to be the death of
revival effort. Business men were confounded, and rich families
were being reduced to poverty. At this time a few individuals
agreed to see if they could not get up a prayer-meeting for
business men, in a business part of the city, particularly near
the Exchange. This was done, and done like business men. They took
pains to give public notice of these meetings, as they would
notify matters of business or politics. They used the appropriate
means, and it was remarked almost immediately after, 'Now God is
answering prayer; this business crisis will bring about a
revival.' A great many of us felt as if the commercial breakdown
were the beginning of the whole movement in the great commercial
city. The results probably some of you know. In gathering the
statistics, from week to week, from different parts of the United
States, it has been estimated that the conversions numbered at
least 50,000 a-week; and it has been stated that over the United
States, the number who have been converted cannot be less than
500,000. The revival is still spreading though it has abated in
the large cities.

A great many overlook the fact that all
these blessings from God have been progressive. The movement has
been swelling and swelling till it has forced itself on the
attention of the public. Every great revival wave has exceeded the
former ones in power, because the number of efficient labourers
has constantly increased. The great majority of the evangelical
ministers in the northern States where the revival has most
occurred, are themselves converts of the revivals that have
blessed and preserved our country. The churches are filled with
the converts of former revivals who know how to work and pray for
their promotion. The Churches believe in the reality and blessed
results of revivals. They have learned more and more now, and pray
and labour in faith for their promotion, and, as their numbers and
efforts have increased, the revival influence has extended until
this great wave has covered the broad country. The majority of the
press used to ignore it; but the facts which manifested themselves
were so wonderful that they could not be denied, and their
publication was a means of greatly increasing the effect. The
editors of these papers, in many instances, are not Christian men:
but the public would have the facts, and they have had them. It
ought to be said that the editor and proprietor of the New York
Tribune has done much that has extended this work. He employed a
special and an able Christian editor to collect and arrange the
revival intelligence, and that paper was instrumental in doing
very much to extend the work. All honour to Mr. Greel[e]y
for the honourable course he pursued. I sent several copies of his
paper to this country--papers made up altogether with revival
intelligence--and have good reason to know that they were the
means of exciting prayer, and a desire for a revival on this side
of the Atlantic.

If the revivals in America prove anything,
it is the exact opposite of what those to whom allusion has been
made would make out. Each great revival has called out and
employed more and more of the laity of the church. Hence the
appropriate means being more and more extended, each great revival
preceded its predecessor. The present revival has employed the
membership of the churches greatly beyond anything that has been
done since the days of the apostles. The readers of my lectures on
revivals know that I have all along insisted upon this, and that
several of those lectures are devoted to this point, namely, the
necessity and the consequences of the whole membership taking
personally hold of the work of revival. The present work exceeds
all the former, just because the means have been greatly
multiplied. God has prepared the American church and ministry for
the work, and by repeated and multiplied local revivals taught
them how to work; and now, instead of working miraculously without
well directed means, it is a fact on the face of the whole
movement that the revival is now extended beyond all precedent,
because the appointed means are thus extended. In all the great
revivals in America, and so far as I can learn, in all great
revivals everywhere, God has called into the field, and much used
and greatly blessed the labours of evangelists. In the days of
Edwards, the Wesleys, Whitfield, and many others were then called
and used on this side of the Atlantic. Whitfield and John Wesley
were called to America, and with them were associated William and
Gilbert Tenant, and others who, though pastors, travelled to many
places and laboured in revivals. In that revival the Lord used
laymen to a considerable extent. This was greatly objected to by
many of the leading ministers. So great was the opposition to the
employment of evangelists and the lay element of the church, that
there was a dearth of revival influence followed for many years.
No evangelist was employed--the lay element of the church lay
dormant, and were not allowed to interfere with what was supposed
to be the exclusive work of the ministry.

The next great revival commenced and was
carried forward under the labours of Mr. Nettleton, in connexion
with some excellent pastors in New England. He, however, did but
little to bring other evangelists or the lay element into the
field. Hence his labours were scarcely extended or felt beyond his
own immediate influence. He laboured successfully, but he laboured
almost alone, not daring or caring to arouse the whole church to
action. His labour was, therefore, of necessity confined to a
comparatively narrow field, and the results were, of course, to
the same extend limited. Of late years a far different course has
been pursued in the U.S. A considerable number of evangelists have
been employed among the various denominations. These have assisted
the pastors, and have laboured to bring out the lay element of the
church. They have laboured hard and successfully to bring to pass
the state of things at present attracting the attention and
exciting the astonishment of the world. The pastors and churches
with whom they have laboured can bear witness to their zeal and
industry and enormous labour, with their blessed results. Those
pastors have also laid out all their own strength in those
revivals as a general thing, and have encouraged the members of
their churches to take hold of the work, male and female, each in
his and her sphere. The present revival is characterised far above
all precedent by the individual activity and labour of the female
members of the churches. If the business men have had their daily
meetings, so have the women; if the men have visited and conversed
with individuals, so have the women. God has greatly used and
greatly honoured the instrumentality of women, and is still doing
so. The ladies' meetings are now regarded as a most important
branch of the great movement in many places.

I must say, in conclusion, that all these
revivals, every one of them at least for the forty years now past,
have been connected with means. Their antecedents have been, in
every case, substantially the same, their accompaniments have been
substantially the same, their type has been substantially the
same, and the results, I trust, will be, under God, substantially
the same. One thing which has been brought out and greatly blessed
is the lay element of the Church, and more so perhaps in this
revival than in any other. Lay men and women also have had their
prayer-meetings, and these have increased in number to such an
extent as to fill the churches. In Boston, I have seen the
vestries crowded to suffocation with ladies' prayer-meetings, and
these ladies, comprising some of the most educated and talented to
be found perhaps in the United States. Persons of all
denominations, forgetting their differences, gave themselves to
the work. They all preached the same thing, the same simple
Gospel. They held out substantially the same truth: Christ died to
save souls; you may be saved; you are a sinner and need to be
saved; now, will you come to Christ and submit yourself to God?
This was about the amount of instruction. I recollect when prayer
meetings for business men were established in Boston. I was the
guest of the man who established them. When it was proposed to put
up a notice calling such a meeting, he said, 'Will they attend?'
'Yes, they will.' 'What! Our business men?' 'Try it.' A notice was
put up, and a place secured--a certain vestry. When the time of
the meeting came, the man was astonished to find not only the room
filled, but all the avenues to it. 'O,' business men would say, 'I
never thought to see the like of this.' There were two rooms, one
above the other, in this vestry. Soon both of them were filled.
From the highest to the lowest, God shook every class of society.
While I was in Boston on one occasion, a gentleman stated that he
had come from the capital of Nebraska, and he had found
prayer-meetings established throughout all the vast extent of
country over which he had travelled. Think of that. A region of
2000 miles, along which the hands and hearts of the people were
lifted up to God in prayer! From north to south, till you come
within the slave territory, a great and mighty cry went up to God
that he would come down and take the people in hand, and convert
the souls; and he heard, and everybody stood confounded. The
movement has come to Ireland, to Scotland, and to this city, and
like a great wave I expect to see it go over Scotland, break upon
the continent, and shake it. Pray for it; let the waters of
eternal life roll; and let Christians all, loving and confiding in
one another, give their hearts unitedly to the work. I beseech
Christians in Great Britain of all denominations to lay aside all
sectarian prejudices and narrowness, and unite their hearts and
hands in the promotion of this work. Do not, my brethren, grieve
and quench the Holy Spirit by setting at naught your brethren,
because they do not in every particular agree in their views with
you. Be tolerant. Be loving, united, faithful, active, prayerful,
and persevering, and a wave of salvation will cover the
land.

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